


What Was the A Again?

by BlueTeamSucks



Series: What's the A Stand For? [5]
Category: Red vs. Blue
Genre: AI AU, F/M, M/M, Mother of Invention, Project Freelancer
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-22
Updated: 2014-09-22
Packaged: 2018-02-18 10:18:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,771
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2344799
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlueTeamSucks/pseuds/BlueTeamSucks
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>"Do you ever wonder why we're here?"</i>
</p>
<p>
  <i>"Not really the time to be talking about God, Wash."</i>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	What Was the A Again?

_"Do you ever wonder why we're here?"_

_"Not really the time to be talking about God, Wash."_

_"No, I meant, why the fuck are we still in this goddamn room? Caboose is on the other side of the door and you're still losing blood and Church is too."_

Tucker looked over at the panting Church. _"He looks fine. Maybe a couple of scratches, but not as critical as me."_

_"Upper right leg. Looks like Caboose got him with that blade."_

Church looked up at them. "We need... To leave. Who knows when Caboose will get back in here," he managed out. He definitely looked hurt.

"Church, buddy. Are you alright?" Tucker inched closer to him, wincing at the sudden sharp pain in his chest.

"I'm fine. Let's just go." Church struggled to his feet. Tucker could see the way that he put all of his weight on his left leg. Blood had dried on his armored thigh.

Tucker stood up, leaning against the wall. He coughed a couple of times, feeling it rattle deep in his chest. "Where should we go?"

A tan light flickered on next to Wash, on Tucker's shoulder. "Try the debriefing room. The Director and The Counselor are probably in there, those are their designated places during a lockdown," York suggested. He was quieter than usual, he bowed his head when he was done talking.

"Even if they aren't there, the main computers are. You can try to send out a distress signal and get some help. The debriefing room is also pretty far away from here. We can hold off Caboose for a bit before he takes us. That should give you some time." CT walked up to them. She bravely tilted her head up and straightened her shoulders back.

Wash and Texas both started shaking their heads frantically. "No, you can't do that! Caboose will get you and we'll never see you again if that happens!" Wash frowned widely at them.

Tex nudged Wash's shoulder. "Simmons and Sarge would want you to come with us. Tucker can take CT and Church can take York. Come with us. Please." There was a surprising amount of emotion in her usually flat voice.

York sadly shook his head. "I would prefer to stay with Simmons." He pulled off his helmet, just like Wash had taught him to. He was definitely handsome, with a strong jawline and brown hair. His left eye was faded white and a scar ran through it and down his face. He gave them a lopsided grin.

Tucker sighed. "That's very kind of you, York."

York gave them all a sad smile. "It's just part of what makes us human, Tucker."

Church turned to CT as York's light went out. CT looked back at Sarge's body, then over at them. "I can't leave him. He needs to rest. Just needs to rest."

They nodded in understanding as she disappeared from their view. Church limped out of the room and Tucker followed him, staring over his shoulder at the AI. "Debriefing room it is, then?" Tucker asked once they were out of sight of the viewing room.

Church nodded weakly. "I really hope that The Director's in there. He'll know what to do."

Tucker fell into step beside Church. He looked over at his friend. "You think so?"

Church gave Tucker a confused look. "What do you mean?"

"I dunno. It seems like he should've seen this coming, right? He's the one who concentrates so hard on the AI. Kind of weird that he wouldn't realize how strange Maine was acting, huh?" Tucker scowled to himself.

"What are you saying?" Church glared at Tucker as they fast walked through the halls.

Tucker shrugged and rubbed at the back of his neck. "I don't know. I'm just... I'm just scared that it will happen again."

_"Thanks for your confidence in me."_

"No, it's not you. I'm thinking Tex," Tucker muttered.

Texas and Church both gave Tucker a blank stare. Tucker stopped in his tracks and shook his head. It was like fog had suddenly filled his mind. He couldn't think straight and the world spun around him.

"Hey thanks, asshole. You really should-" Texas started to argue with Tucker, but Church quickly shushed her.

"Tucker? Are you okay?"

Tucker could barely hear him. It felt like he had wads of cotton in his ears. Wash didn't say anything as Tucker struggled to keep standing.

"Tucker? Tucker!" Church started to shake him.

Tucker jolted back to reality. The fog cleared from his mind and he blinked a couple of times in confusion. "Wash? What happened?"

_"I... I don't know."_

"Dude, you were just dead on your feet for a minute there. Can you make it to the debriefing room or do I need to carry you like you're four?" Church joked, but Tucker could see the worry making it's way through onto his face.

"Nah. Let's just hurry there." Tucker shook his head slowly, then started jogging. He didn't want to admit that the hallway felt like it should be in Inception.

Wash breathed in sharply, not really helping matters that much. _"Woah. I'm... Really, really dizzy."_

As Church jogged in pace next to him, Tucker snorted weakly. _"Can an AI even get dizzy?_

_"Apparently."_

"We're almost there," Texas announced, probably more for Church than for either of them. Tucker could tell that his leg was hurting him from the way he scrunched in face up in pain and gasped every other step. Tucker was reminded of the burning in his chest as they jogged.

They reached the outside of the debriefing room. The door was walked shut and the handle wouldn't turn. Tucker banged on the door as hard as he could. "Hello? Fuck, we need help!" He flinched at the pain the movement caused.

"Agent Tucker?" The Counselor's steady voice asked from the other side. How he could appear so calm in such a jarring situation, Tucker would never know.

"Yeah. And Church."

"Is anyone else with you?" The Director's strong southern accent cut through the metal of the heavy door.

Church answered for Tucker, who had fallen against the doorframe and was struggling to keep his eyes open. "Just Texas and Washington."

The door slowly slid open just enough for them to squeeze through. Tucker squeaked in pain as the edge of the door brushed against his chest. The moment the door was closed behind them, Tucker collapsed on the nearest chair and yanked his helmet off of his head. "Jesus Christ."

"Report?"

Tucker cracked his eyes open and stared at The Director. "Doc shot me in the chest and ran off with the package. Grif, Simmons, and Sarge found me, Simmons gave me his healing unit. They told me that Donut was dead. 479er took us back, then the alarms went off. We ran to the viewing room, where we could see Sister's body. Grif ran to her, got killed. Church came in, Caboose blew up the door, Sarge and Simmons are dead. We don't know where Caboose is now." Tucker's words caught in his throat as he gave the summary of the recent events.

The Director nodded. "Any AI retrieved?"

Tucker clenched his jaw tightly. "No. Wyoming was with Doc. Caboose had Maine, Carolina, North, and South. Probably has Connecticut and York by now. They were going to buy us some times. All we have left is Wash and Tex."

The Counselor sighed in disappointment. "That's very unfortunate."

Church and Tucker shared a worried glance. The Director nodded knowingly. "Yes, it is. I'm sorry to have to tell you two this, but we're going to have to ask for your AI back. We can't risk having The Meta take them from you and corrupt them."

Wash cried out. "No. I can't leave, I can't go back. Don't let them take me, Tucker. They hurt me, they hurt me. No, please, no. I can't do that agin, I just can't. Lavernius, help! Please, I love you too much." Tucker could feel Wash cringing away from The Director.

_"Calm down, it's okay. I'm not going to let them take you. I promise. You're okay."_ Tucker glared at his leader and took a couple of steps back as he comforted Wash.

Church stepped in front of Tucker, like a protective barrier for Wash. "What the hell does he mean by, 'they hurt me'?"

Wash started sniffling and Tucker could barely keep his composure. _"No, no. Not this. No, no, no, no! Please, Tucker,"_ he moaned quietly.

Texas could tell that something was wrong by Tucker's horrified expression. She put her hands on her hips and glared at The Director, the man she was supposed to look up to and respect. Instead, Tucker could practically see her sneer through her black helmet. "What did you to to him?"

The Director glanced at The Counselor, then sighed deeply, as if they were annoying him with their questions. "I suppose you should know what happened now that it appears that Project Freelancer is over for the moment. We only had permission to create _one_ AI."

He let that sink in before continuing. Wash groaned miserably. _"I can't remember it all the way. I don't want to remember it."_

_"Do you need to log off?"_ Tucker asked. Wash was silent, but Tucker could still feel him thinking quietly in his head.

The Director started talking again, in that grating accent. "We were given materials to make an AI on the account that we used one of our own agents. We weren't aloud to tell them, so we had to fake a surgery. A surgery that would allow us to copy their mind. A brain surgery."

Tucker watched numbly as Church paled. When he had first joined the project, he had needed extra wiring on his neural implants. "You went into my fucking brain?" Church's voice was a harsh whisper, unlike his usually angry squeaking.

"I am very sorry, Leonard. It was for a good cause. We managed to create the Alpha, a single AI based off of you." The Director didn't look sorry at all.

Church was speechless, so Tucker butted in. "If you only made one AI, then where'd you get the rest? There were nine of them before today."

The Counselor seemed unperturbed. "We had to get creative. We tried to copy them."

Church looked up at them with an expression of horror and stumbled away from them. He nearly crashed into Tucker. "You sick fucks."

Tucker's eyebrows shot up. "What?"

"You can't copy an AI. You would need to split off parts of the Alphas brain to get more. Parts like the logic. The trust. The memories." Church gave Tucker an empathetic glance.

A memory washed over him. Not a memory of his own, this was one of Wash's memories. He was laying on the ground in an empty room with several other figures. They all looked exhausted and in pain. Like he was. A voice rang out from above. A familiar voice. "I have bad news."

All of the others looked up for the source of the voice, finding nothing. He didn't even bother. He could feel himself breaking already. Like his friends had. "There was a problem with your calculations. Two agents were killed. It's not your fault."

That made him look up in horror. Not again. Please, not again. "Who?" He questioned, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Agent Church and Agent Tucker. I'm sorry."

No. Not them, not him. Not his favorite, no. It was all his fault. All his fault. If he could've been better, if he could've worked harder, then they would still be alive. He had hurt them, he had killed the. If he had had more time, then they would be alive.

Pain struck all over him. Like intense pins and needles. His mind went fuzzy for a moment and he woke up in a strange place. Two figures were looming above him. One of them spoke and he vaguely remembered him. "Hello, Washington Epsilon."

Tucker cried out and fell to the ground. His chest burned and his head ached. "I killed them, I killed them." Sister, Donut, Grif, Simmons, and Sarge were dead because of him and Caboose was insane.

Someone knelt down next to him and frantically shook him. "Tucker! Tucker, man, please get up! Look what you did, you freaks! Get away from us, leave!"

_"Allison."_

"Allison!" Tucker dry heaved and clutched his head in his hands, trying to block out the rest of the world.

There was the faint noise of clanking metal. Church was still by his side. "They're gone, man. You can get up now. Please get up, my head hurts and I'm so tired. So tired."

Washington was unravelling inside his head and he could feel every second of it. From the fleeting memories of torture and pain to the happier times they had stayed up talking all night. Some of his own memories were in there. Stuff from his childhood, like playing with his dog, Junior.

"Tucker, please don't die. I can't say goodbye to you too, just pull Wash. He'll understand," Church pleaded, pulling Tucker's head into his lap. Tucker could clearly see his electric blue eyes through the pain.

His back arched as Wash screamed. _"Don't say goodbye! I hate goodbyes!"_

He moaned miserably. He couldn't leave Wash. He was scared and in pain, he couldn't leave him like this. He just couldn't. He loved him too much.

There was a loud thud at the door. Church whipped his head around. He looked back down at Tucker with Texas on his shoulder. He looked scared. "That's Caboose."

Tucker managed to frown at him. "Go. Get Tex out, go. Please just leave, I'll be fine." He pushed Church away from him weakly.

"I can't just let you die, Tucker." Church stood over him, nearly crying. Tex was obviously urging him to go, but he still looked unsure.

Tucker gave him a pained smile. "You're the one... Who should be worried, asshole. Get your ass out of here."

Church nodded. "Okay, good luck, buddy."

"Church?"

Church smiled at him with tears in his eyes. "Tucker, it's going to be okay, man."

Tucker coughed weakly and shook his head. Wash sobbed. "No. Ah... I'm na, I'm not gonna make it. Church, there's something I need to tell you."

"What is it?" Church leaned down over him and grabbed his hand. There was another crash at the door.

"I just want you to know, I always hated you. I always hated you the most." Tucker grinned at his best friend, then let his head fall back.

Church sniffed. "Yeah, I know you did. Now hurry up and die, you prick." He was definitely crying now.

Tucker gave a last laugh. "Okay. You better go."

"Bye, Tucker."

"See ya, Church."

The room was suddenly eerily quiet as Church's footsteps faded away. The moment was ruined by another bang on the door. Tucker's head pounded and the area behind his eyes hurt.

_"Tucker?"_

_"Yeah?"_

_"I'm sorry. I love you."_

_"I love you too. It's not your fault. Don't worry, we'll be fine."_

There was a pause before Wash responded. _"No, we won't be. I'm breaking down, we can both feel it. You should pull me and follow Church. You might be able to get out of here before Caboose manages to break in."_

_"We both know that I would never do that, so don't waste your breath, you moron."_

_"It was worth a shot."_ Wash smiled faintly, then his breath hitched. _"Tucker, I'm scared."_

_"Don't be. I'm with you. You're safe."_ Tucker bit his bottom lip as a shudder ran along his spine.

Another thud from the door. Wash cried out in pain, then Tucker's usually busy mind was silent. There were no more memories playing out and no more friendly voice that teased him. A sob racked Tucker's body at the loss of his AI.

A final crash came from the door, then agonizingly slow footsteps. Tucker's breath started to become more shallow as Caboose approached. Tucker squeezed his eyes shut groaned at the pain. Without Wash, Simmons' healing unit had stopped working. His chest felt like it was on fire. Tucker coughed up blood.

A shadow fell over him and Tucker cracked his eyes open just a little bit. An old helmet was staring down at him accompanied by what seemed like dozens of AI. They all swan before Tucker's eyes and the room spun like it belonged in a fun house.

One of the AI howled. "He's not here. Washington is gone."


End file.
